IT HAS BEEN A WHILE SINCE WE’VE RELEASED A PROPER IMPACT REPORT AND THIS SEASON HAS BEEN ONE FOR THE BOOKS!

FORWARD

When asked about Dynamo and what we’ve been up to I always say that we’ve been building and quietly moving on some very exciting projects behind the scenes. This year (2024) we are capitalizing on all of that growth and finally pulling back the curtain. From program expansions to new cities to launching new programs in Chattanooga to landing major label record deals — WE’VE BEEN BUSY!

And most importantly (the reason we are all here in the first place) our students have growing across the board and excelling academically, socially, and professionally.

Our organization is piloting a variety of programming and capitalizing on successful pre-existing program models we’ve used over the years. Our primary focus is student development and our secondary focus is community development (ie local music economy development).

Due to the success of these programs, the rapid development of the students, and the high-level producers operating out of our space over the past year, Dynamo has recently landed a major label publishing and pub. admin deal, landed a massive partnership with the Grammy Association, launched programs in several new schools, been identified by the state for a $1,000,000 grant to expand programming across the city (that one is pending, but is flattering to be tapped as a candidate), landed over 50 professional opportunities for students beyond edu programming in the actual music industry, helped students generate thousands of dollars in income, and so much more. 

We’ve even seen dramatic improvement in each students grades, a wide reaching increase in test score, an imporovement in overall school culture, and an increase in school attendance.

As the organization has grown, we’ve been careful to build programs around the opportunities presented that can really move the needle for our students. We aren’t doing a re-brand, but we are going to do a formal refresh of our messaging and narrative. As you know, we’ve been focused on using the music industry as a means of impact for students. We will be shifting to focus on using the Creative Econonmy as a means of achieving impact. A few points about the Creative Economy:

1. The Creative Economy includes the following: The music industry, film making, commericial media (photography/videography), graphic design, and web. In 2020 this represented over 6% of the total global economy. Now its 8% of the global economy. The creative economy is projected to grow by 40% by 2030! We can’t ignore these numbers and we recognize this refocusing of our programs will allow students to really capitalize on the jobs that are being created.

2. The Creative Economy is one of the fastest growing economies on the planet.

3. The Creative Economy is different from the fine arts world because it is built around the idea of creating jobs and creating economic movement. The other is focused on art for the sake of art and its value to civilization (and obviously that is massively important). We want our programs to create realistic opportunities for our students to escape poverty and the Creative Economy does just that!

Impact Report Highlights:

• Quick Stats

• Student Success Stories

• Field Experiences and Career Pipeline

• In School Program Expansions and Other Shifts

• Middle School Programming

• High School Programming

• Extra Curricular Programming Expansion

• Promoting the Local Music Economy

• Partnership with the City of Chattanooga

QUICK STATS

1,050+ students directly impacted

We opened one new public music/media production studio space

We built one new large format teaching studio at a school

We launched full time programming and large production spaces at two new partner schools

Increased test scores for core students

Decreased behavior problems in school for core students

Inceased student buy-in at school for core students

Increased school attendance for core students

30 live audio/video projects

1,700+ music production and media production classes (multiple classes per day across multiple schools over 180 school days/year) 

10+ major touring artist sessions with the students

40+ high-level professional opportunities for students

30+ photo libraries delivered to community partners and clients (all student-created)

10 high-level video projects (commercial, music video, and mini-documentaries)

50+ artists/musicians directly supported through media creation (all student-created) (local and national touring artists)

7+ local schools directly impacted by programming

IMPACT THROUGH MENTORSHIP

Our mentorship programming is the most refined model we follow to impact students. Through this model, students are offered the chance to work within our production studio multiple times a week and in many cases even get paid. Here is where we pour everything we have to offer into our students. This is also where students are paired with a small group of mentors that work with them on a regular basis. These mentors are in communication with parents, teachers, and other stakeholders in the students’ lives so that we can holistically impact their lives. These mentors include grammy nominated, multi platinum record selling, major label producers in addition to widely recognized published content creators.

Through intentional small group impact, our students lives are being changed.

STUDENT SUCCESS STORIES AND TESOTMONIALS

We have well over a thousand students and plenty of stories to share, but here are a few we wanted to highlight:

Oni

• Junior - High School

• Recently was accepted into SCAD because of her work with Dynamo

“I LOVE DYNAMO! Working with Tessa and other female professionals has been so inspiring. I know what I want to do with my life because of these opportunities.”

Oni started with us as a sophomore in high school during one of our summer camps. She latched onto the photography pathway and took full ownership of any opportunity we threw at her. One exciting opportunity for her was shooting photos for Moon River festival in partnership with Dynamo and LiveNation. She did so well that her work ended up landing her a seat at one of the most competitive photo programs in the country — SCAD. On top of that, she will be a first-generation college student!

Kam

• Sophomore - Jackson State

• Howard High School Grad

“Dynamo believed in me when no one else did. Everyone around me went down the wrong path and even when I messed up Dwhit and Mr Kessler were there to get my head right. I ended up graduating at the top of my class because of them and now I’m in college chasing my dreams!”

We started working with Kam when he was a sophomore at Howard. His charisma and drive were something that immediately stuck out to us. On top of that, he is mega-talented. We’ve walked through some wild experiences with him and we are so proud of where he’s at. He is majoring in education and minoring in media so that he can give back to students as we did for him. Kam is a first generation college student.

Eli

• Senior - High School

• Future MTSU student on scholarship for music

“These guys have been with me since middle school and now I’m a senior about to graduate and take on the world. Next year I’m going to college on a scholarship in music and I’ll be the first one in my family to make it! I know what I want to do with the rest of my life because of Dynamo.”

Eli is a student who has worked with many of our instructors and is one of the students who’s been involved with our programs since 7th grade. He first got involved when we were still piloting our model at East Lake Academy and now he is a senior at Howard. The growth we’ve seen from him is truly remarkable. This student has experienced a lot of life at a young age. We’ve seen him deal with true nightmare situations and walked through it with him as best we could. He always managed to rise above the noise and now he’s a senior in high school who’s going to be a first-generation college student!

Brandon

• Senior - High School

• Pursuing music full-time after graduation

“Man, you already know what it is! Dynamo has always been there for me and they gave me the motivation to stay and school so I can pursue music! They are my family!”

Brandon…That is one of our guys. He started with us back in 7th grade at East Lake Academy — Another student who has been with us since the pilot program days. Brandon has had a rough go of it. About as bad as anyone could possibly imagine in terms of the inner city experience. These experiences are not something that anyone is really equipped to deal with, let alone a kid. These experiences manifested into a very angry student. The typical methods of supporting a student who is suffering never seemed to work and as a result, he was in and out of school for many years. Early on we recognized that he simply needed people to listen to him and believe in his vision. When he would get put out of class for behavior, he somehow always ended up in my class. We would talk and I encouraged him to pour his heart out into writing. He wanted to be a rapper and this was what all the greats did. They were vulnerable and real in their lyrics and that’s what set them apart from everyone else. They were rapping about real life. This is when things clicked for him and everything improved across the board — better grades, higher rates of attendance, and his art (rap) took off. Now he’s about to walk across the stage at graduation to pursue his dreams!

Field Experiences and Career Pipeline

What makes our programs so special is that we take learning well beyond the typical classroom experience. Participating students are paired with professional creatives in the industry where they are able to apply what they have learned in a real-world professional setting.

Not only that, but we also bring in creatives to partner with teachers and students in their classrooms as well. This allows us to bridge the gap between the professional world and the academic world.

By putting industry-leading equipment in the hands of students and creating high-level opportunities for students to apply what they’ve learned in the real world, we are changing the trajectory of their lives.

One of the most exciting aspects of our educational model is our field experiences and career pipeline. The Dynamo Studios career pipeline is a model that allows students to participate in professional opportunities in the music industry around Chattanooga and the greater Chattanooga region. These opportunities are what many pros dream of experiencing. We firmly believe that the most growth occurs when students are in the community working with professionals in a professional setting beyond the classroom. Through our strategic partnerships, students will have the opportunity to work with some of the biggest names in the music industry. World-renowned artists to industry-leading brands to some of the most reputable names in the local music industry. This is what Dynamo Studios is all about. Equipping students with skills and then opening doors to life-changing opportunities!

MOON RIVER X DYNAMO STUDIOS

On September 9th and 10th 2023, our students, from Chatt High Center for Creative Arts, had the opportunity to work alongside the Live Nation and AC Entertainment media production teams to create content for the legendary Moon River Music Festival right here in Chattanooga, TN. This was a special one for sure!

These two students, Oni and Serenity, covered 22 performances over the course of two days. The weekend couldn’t have been better. 13,000 stoked fans, top-tier acts, near perfect weather — It really couldn’t have been better.

For a full look at their work, click here!

SWITCHFOOT AND FRIENDS

One of the long-time friends and frequent collaborators of Dynamo is the multi-platinum Grammy-winning band Switchfoot. Whenever they are in town, or nearby, we manage to do something special with them. This past fall they set out on the 20-year anniversary tour of their hit record ‘Meant to Live’. We had the opportunity to work with them a few times on this tour.

To kick off the tour, the band needed a lot of content to promote future tour stops, but the problem was that they didn’t have enough content front-loaded for marketing, so that was where are students came in. The band reached out to us and booked our students to create content to help them market their tour. Our students literally created the content and media assets used to market a multi-million dollar tour!

For a full look at their work, click here!

Shooting a Music Video for Switchfoot:

While Switchfoot was in town for their tour stop at The Signal, they took the time to work with some of our media students at our teaching studio. Check out the video below!

***This is demo audio. We are still waiting for the final master to come back***

Our students had the opportunity to shoot photos for Switchfoot at The Signal here in Chattanooga. Here is how it went!

PRogram expansions and other shifts

Local Expansions

Since our last report, we have expanded to three schools Dalewood Middle School, Tyner Middle Academy, and Tyner High School.

DALEWOOD MIDDLE SCHOOL

Dalewood is a Title I school that we are very excited to be working with! At this middle school, we worked with them to build out a large music production space and a well-equipped mobile production lab that supports music production, photography, videography, and design. From this program, we will eventually launch a full-scale production program at Brainerd High School (where the students attend following 8th grade promotion).

Tyner Middle Academy and Tyner High School

The program at Tyner is shaping out to be something special. Initially, we launched a part-time program with this school under our Sponsored Programs Model where we partnered with one of their pre-established technology teachers and provided her with training and equipment. Due to the quick success and rapid growth of the program, we’ve provided a full-time instructor to support the development and expansion of the program as a 6th-12th grade model. We even helped them secure $300,000+ of reallocated state funding to support the program’s expansion and development.

Other school projects — The CCA Recording Studio.

Starting work with CCA on a formalized program was a full circle moment for Dynamo as that’s where we came up with the idea for our org years ago. We are elated to have launched their after-school production program and consult with their inaugural film program. Additionally, we developed, designed, and built their brand new recording studio opening in Fall 2023.

For a behind-the-scenes look at the build, click here.

Out of Town Expansions:

The primary focus of this report is on Chattanooga and our local programs, but we do have some exciting news to share — We’ve expanded to Atlanta and Nashville! These expansions are a BIG DEAL and are the direct result of our work here. Before we jump in, please note that none of these programs are being funded by Chattanooga dollars. All funding stays local to the programs themselves.

The Atlanta expansion is one that made too much sense not to pursue. We have a very large following there and a strong community within their local music industry. When we first launched in ATL we assumed there would be a ton of programs like ours already operating. What we found is that there weren’t any… somehow in a city with one of the largest music economies on the planet, we were FIRST. These programs have been so successful that we’ve attracted the attention of several major labels and the schools are in the process of revamping their school model to accommodate Dynamo’s program model full-time. Atlanta Public Schools all follow a career ‘pathways’ model. Their model will now include a full music and entertainment pathway that will be replicated across the district.

The Nashville expansion came about because leadership in Nashville Metro Public Schools saw that Dynamo’s program model was very strong and they wanted us to replicate it for them. They had programs running for years, but they weren’t working (for a variety of reasons). They pursued us because they wanted Dynamo to revamp their programs and help them launch stronger partnerships within the Nashville music industry.

HEAR FROM MULTI PLATINUM MULTI GRAMMY WINNING PRODUCER NEEDLZ ON WHY HE SUPPORTS AND PARTNERS WITH DYNAMO STUDIOS

CURRICULUM

Our long-awaited curriculum is finally complete! This robust semester (18 weeks) of lesson plans and projects has been fully deployed between Hamilton County Schools and Atlanta Public Schools. We also partnered with The Breed (multi-platinum grammy winning producer team) to help launch their edu nonprofit The Breed Academy in Connecticut. They are making use of our curriculum with their students and will also be contributing to our curriculum in the future

Other Shifts…

There is no easy way to say it so we will just rip the band-aid off — The school board voted to shut down Howard Connect. This school is our pride and joy and we are heartbroken over their decision. This is because Howard High School is at 180% capacity and they need a plan to immediately relieve the pressure of overcrowding. Connect will be phased out over the next couple of years so that current students can finish out their time there without disruption to their middle school careers.

WE DO NOT AGREE WITH THIS DECISION TO KILL OFF THE ‘CONNECT’ MODEL. This school has been transformative for students from communities that typically struggle in school. What was created at Howard Connect was life-changing and we are sad to see another incredible opportunity taken away from inner-city kids.

*** Please note that the school board and district leadership agree that Dynamo was a key part of the school's success and that they still support, advocate for, and invest in Dynamo’s programming across the school district. ***

SUMMER CAMP

Our camp built off of the success of our camp last summer which we operated in partnership with the City of Chattanooga. On average we had 20+ students in attendance mon-thur from 8:00am-1:30pm with many students staying as late as 8:00 pm. Students were given unrestricted access to all of our equipment and resources to create original music and media assets. 

This is a program we hope to expand heavily this coming summer due to the massive demand. Last summer we had 85 registrations but only 20 seats available.

• GO LIVE! SUMMER PRODUCTION CAMP KICK OFF!

• ROARK BAILEY X DYNAMO STUDIOS

After-School Programming:

Our after-school programs are currently in pilot mode as we refine our model and position the org for several robust initiatives launching Q1 2024. These programs are open to any student, but we are specifically targeting our most advanced students. This is where kids can attend to take their skills to the next level, receive mentorship support, or catch up on school work in small group settings. So far the programs have worked well, but we are working on putting a transportation plan in place that will help out our families that don’t have access to reliable transportation. 

We will be adding a variety of programming in the near future:

• Free music lessons from 3:00pm-8:00pm on Mondays led by a team of local musicians

• Expanded after-school programming

• Expanded career pipeline opportunities for students

• Expanded professional development for HCDE teachers

• Civitas sessions 

• Master Classes

• Video Shoots

• Photo Shoots

• Programs opened to adult learners

• Loads more… 

Middle School Programming around Hamilton County Schools

All programming falls in line with the focus of our previous programming in empowering students by equipping them with skills and technology through modern creative industries found within the music industry: Music Production, Audio Engineering, Photography, Videography, and Design.

Through our middle school partnership, we are teaching multiple production classes per day. In addition to our regularly scheduled classes, we’ve also integrated production programs within core content subjects as well.

SAMPLE PROJECT: ‘USING LIGHTS AND COLOR FILTERS’

One our favorite in class projects is the Pop Up Photo Challenge. For these challenges, students are given a series of photos that they then have to recreate. In this example, students were provided three photos created by photographer Jaren Lewis. They needed to use color filters and studio lights to achieve that look.

Checkout their work below!

High School Programming at The Howard School

All programming falls in line with the focus of our previous programming in empowering students by equipping them with skills and technology through modern creative industries found within the music industry: Music Production, Audio Engineering, Photography, Videography, and Design.

Through our high school partnership, we are working in three different art classes per day in addition to supporting smaller one-off projects with various CTE classes and one band class. In addition to our regularly scheduled classes, we’ve also integrated production programs into school-wide support initiatives highlighting student and teacher work.

This year we expanded programming and now have two staff members at Howard full time. One focuses on media production and the other is focused on music production.

Additionally, we helped the school naviaget and secure their ISM Grant from the state. This will allow for them to spend around $400,000 on state of the art equipment over the next two years which will take the programs to an entirely new level.

WHAT THE TEACHERS AND STUDENTS ARE SAYING

NEW OPPORTUNITIES, STUDIOS, AND PARTNERSHIPS

DYNAMO STUDIOS HQ

OUR EDUCATION-BASED RECORDING STUDIO

Trhough our partnership with Mayor Tim Kelly and the City of Chattanooga, we FINALLY have a new and permanent home for the next few years! This has been a very long time coming and we are so thankful to have this new space to further our work with students. Our new studio was made possible through our partnership with the city and the generosity of our supporters.

What really sold us on this location were two things:

1. The location is in close proximity to a huge number of inner-city students. Accessibility and transportation are serious challenges for the students we like to work with and this location solves both of those problems!

2. This space is the perfect gathering space for musicians to work with students so they can play an active role in their lives. When artists invest their time and energy into working with students, the real, life-changing magic happens.

How it’s been going

We have opened the doors to a handful of local professionals who need space and resources to create. Through this process, there have been over 30 singles fully produced, recorded, and mixed out of our studio. Each song cost on average $1,500 to produce which generated a minimum of $45,000 for the local producers thus improving their economic position. 

Beyond local projects, we’ve been able to attract a wide variety of major producers from LA, ATL, Nashville, and beyond to create at our studio. This has led to a plethora of projects being written and produced locally. We can’t disclose who the artists are on public record, but they are about as big as it gets. 

PROMOTING THE LOCAL MUSIC ECONOMY

SONG WRITER PRODUCER CAMPS

“Songwriting Camps — Where the music industry’s greatest songs are crafted” — BMI

Songwriting camps are used by publishing companies to grow their catalog of songs written by signed writers. It’s a gathering of producers and topliners in a pre-selected location for the purpose of cross-pollinating creativity and writing songs. A camp usually takes place in a spacious destination with a lot of separate rooms where writers can be divided into smaller groups. Often the purpose of the gathering is to generate material for a specific artist. Like Eric Bellinger, Justin Bieber, etc. etc. These camps can last for a few days or a week or longer.

To learn more about our camps, hit the links for our blogs below.

CIVITAS SESSIONS

The concept is very simple: Get talented people in the room then provide space, resources, and the opportunities they need to win.

The music industry and creative industries as a whole thrive on community and collaboration. This is something we hope to foster. At the CIVITAS Sessions, we will be opening our doors for people to use our space, collaborate, create, and build relationships with other creatives in our community.

The secondary goal of these sessions is to help creatives ELEVATE. We don’t want another mixer event that doesn’t actually create opportunities for people. CIVITAS Sessions are specifically curated to help people grow, gain opportunities, and advance their careers (make money).

To learn more about our camps, hit the links for our blogs below.

LOOKING TO THE FUTURE…

We are about to move into a very excting new chapter for the org. It’s hard to put into words how important this will be for Chattanooga as a whole. This is going to bring massive investment to Chattanooga and it’s going to create thousands of jobs — High paying jobs that our students will be able to fill. We are leading something that will chnage the entire cultural fabric of our community.

This is a celebration of our students everyone that’s supported our mission and the vision over the past four years. GAME TIME!

THE VENTURE PROJECT — A CREATIVE ECOSYSTEM FOR CHATTANOOGA

The ‘Venture’ production facility will serve as a hub for all things related to creative industries in Chattanooga with a specific focus on the music industry and media production. The end goal here is to address the needs presented by the local music economy, the creative economy, and the needs of producers/musicians who wish to create in Chattanooga, while also providing facilities and resources that attract the highest level of talent to Chattanooga. A special emphasis will be placed on opportunities to advance people who are ACTIVE in the creative economy and educational+professional opportunities for students advancing through Dynamo Studios’ educational programs.

This facility will house multiple recording studios, mix rooms, an iMac lab, lounges, offices, agency space, co-work spaces, and a handful of on-site apartments, etc.

*** AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, THIS CREATES ROBUST AND WIDE REACHING OPPORTUNITIES FOR OUR STUDENTS. THIS PROJECT WILL 100% ADVANCE MANY OF OUR STUDENTS DIRECTLY OUT OF POVERTY AND THAT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF THE PROJECT FOR US. ***

To learn more, click here. (Password: dynamo)